UNC women 27-0, earning 18th soccer title

CARY, N.C. - Heather O'Reilly had two goals and an assist to lead undefeated North Carolina to a 6-0 victory over Connecticut in the NCAA women's soccer championship game Sunday.

Lindsay Tarpley scored twice, and Lori Chalupny and Alyssa Ramsey added goals for the Tar Heels, who finished 27-0 and ended the season by outscoring their six tournament opponents 32-0.

The championship was UNC's 18th in women's soccer and first since 2000. It finished unbeaten and untied for a fifth time.

O'Reilly was named the tournament's most outstanding offensive player after finishing with eight goals and three assists. Teammate Cat Reddick was named outstanding defensive player.

"You never think that, in a national championship game, the score will come out the way it did," Reddick said.

MEN'S SOCCER: St. John's overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Creighton 3-2 and advance to the College Cup for the second time in three seasons. It faces Maryland, which scored four times in 11 minutes to defeat St. Louis 4-2. The Terps are in the semifinals for the second straight season. Indiana plays Santa Clara in Friday's other game.

SWIMMING: Florida won the U.S. Open with a combined score of 458 points Saturday at Federal Way, Wash. Sara McLarty won the women's high points award with 71, and Ryan Lochte was runnerup for the men's award (66).

TRACK: Kim Barrett set a school shot put record of 56 feet, 7.25 inches to lead the Gator women Saturday at the Clemson Open. UF swept the top seven spots in the shot put and won the pole vault, 60-meter hurdles, 300- and 500-meter dash.

VOLLEYBALL: The Washington, Mo., women won their record eighth Division III title, sweeping New York University 30-26, 32-30, 30-22 Saturday in La Verne, Calif.

WATER POLO: Southern Cal won its second men's title when freshman Trevor Clark scored in the final minute of the second overtime, beating two-time defending champion Stanford 9-7.

STEROIDS: U.S. wants lifetime ban

USA Track & Field delegates overwhelmingly approved a lifetime ban for athletes who test positive, but the policy won't take effect until questions about its legality are resolved. Because the zero-tolerance plan imposes penalties tougher than mandated by the IAAF, the USATF has asked the world governing body to make sure the new rule is acceptable. USATF rules call for a two-year ban for first-time offenders. Under the new plan, they and their coaches could face lifetime bans.

GOLF: Watson player of the year

Tom Watson was voted Champions Tour player of the year, giving him a sweep of the major awards. Watson won two of the tour's five major championships, but his year is remembered equally for the support he gave his caddie, Bruce Edwards, who has Lou Gehrig's disease. He also won the points-based Charles Schwab Cup and donated the $1-million annuity to research and patient care for Lou Gehrig's disease. Craig Stadler was voted rookie of the year for his three victories, including a major. Don Pooley was voted comeback player. He had shoulder surgery in January that caused him to miss the first 12 tournaments, but returned to win in consecutive weeks.

PGA TOUR QUALIFYING: Danny Ellis shot 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead into today's final round in Orlando. The top 30 receive 2004 tour cards; the remaining players get exempt or conditional status on the Nationwide Tour. Ellis was 17-under 343 after five rounds. Dan Olsen (67) and Sweden's Mathias Gronberg (70) were tied for second.

FATHER-SON CHALLENGE: Hale and Steve Irwin closed with 11-under 61 to hold off a late run by Jack and Jackie Nicklaus in Orlando. The Irwins, runnersup three times, made birdie on two of the last three holes in a scramble format and finished 21-under 123.

WINTER SPORTS: Canadian ties wins record

Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon tied the record for career World Cup speed skating gold medals when he won the 500 in Calgary, Alberta. Wotherspoon, who tied Uwe-Jens Mey of Germany with 48 wins, finished in 34.78 seconds. American Jennifer Rodriguez took the 1,000 in 1 minute, 15.28 seconds.

SKIING: Norway's Bjarne Solbakken earned his first World Cup victory, holding off Hermann Maier in a super-giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colo. Solbakken finished in 1:13.05, beating Maier by 0.39. American Bode Miller made a mistake for the third straight day, skiing wide on a turn and missing a gate near the top. ... A men's World Cup giant slalom scheduled for Val d'Isere, France, on Dec.14 was switched to Alta Badia, Italy.

BOBSLED: Susi Erdmann led a German sweep of women's World Cup races in Lake Placid, N.Y. Erdmann, with brakeman Kristina Bader, had a total time of 1:57.29 on two runs. American Jean Racine was fifth in 1:57.93 with 2002 Olympic gold-medal winner Vonetta Flowers on the brakes.

ET CETERA

SWIMMING: Slovakia's Martina Moravcova won the 200-meter freestyle at Durban, South Africa, in 1:56.30, giving her six gold medals at a World Cup meet and victories in every event she entered. Staciana Stitts of the United States picked up a second gold, winning the 50-meter breaststroke in 31.60.

TENNIS: Andy Roddick won the final 10 points and beat James Blake 7-5, 7-6 (7-0) in an exhibition match in Lexington, Ky. Proceeds benefit the University of Kentucky program.